


Karaoke for Joker

by turtleeden



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Multi, also why we didn't have a karaoke event in game when we had a karaoke place was beyond me, guts would've been so much easier to raise, i finally came up with a birthday for him i'm so happy rn, i guess that's what the dancing games are for, shoutout to warner for giving me this idea, this one is for you my friend
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 00:16:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,767
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14904887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/turtleeden/pseuds/turtleeden
Summary: 8/10. The pressure to deal with Medjed and waiting for Futaba to recover is weighing down heavily on Akira's shoulders. Meanwhile at the same time, Ryuji, Ann, Yusuke and Makoto plan a special event for a special day: Akira's birthday.





	Karaoke for Joker

**Ann** : Psst, Ryuji!  
**Ann** : Hey, Ryuji! You still awake?  
**Ryuji** : Ann, what the hell?  
**Ryuji** : It’s super friggin’ late!  
**Ryuji** : Lucky I’m still awake tho. What’s up?  
**Ann** : You figure out something to do for tomorrow?  
**Ryuji** : ??? Tomorrow?  
**Ryuji** : What’s happening tomorrow?  
**Ann** : ...you didn’t forget, did you?  
**Ann** : Come on, you wouldn’t forget something like this.  
**Ryuji** : …  
**Ryuji** : ....!!!!  
**Ryuji** : OH SHIT!  
**Ryuji** : SHIT!  
**Ann** : You actually forgot?! What the hell?!  
**Ryuji** : HELL NO I DIDN’T FORGET!  
**Ryuji** : ...I just couldn’t think of anything.  
**Ann** : Oh. My god.  
**Ann** : Some best friend you are! Work with me here!  
**Ryuji** : Get off my back! I don’t see you coming up with any ideas!  
**Ann** : Duh! That’s why I was asking you, moron!  
**Ann** : I’m stumped too!  
**Ryuji** : The hell?! Aren’t you as close to him as I am?!  
**Ann** : Yeah, but… ugh, dammit! It’s hard!  
**Ann** : Do you know how hard it is to surprise him?  
**Ryuji** : I know, right?  
**Ryuji** : That guy doesn’t shake easily, I swear.  
**Ann** : He’s been almost everywhere at this point…  
**Ann** : Or at least it feels like it sometimes.  
**Ann** : Not to mention that he’s totally the ‘Anything Goes’ type.  
**Ann** : He’d constantly be like ‘I’m fine with whatever’ or something like that.  
**Ryuji** : And he’d totally just wave it off and shit like it’s no big deal!  
**Ryuji** : Especially if you’re offering him something like a soda or whatever.  
**Ann** : Right!? It’s like… ugh! You’re not helping me, Akira!  
**Ann** : We’re talking about YOU! What do YOU want?  
**Ann** : I mean, I know that he doesn’t say things that he doesn’t mean, but sometimes it’s like…  
**Ryuji** : ...like he’s trying not to make a scene so he’s just friggin’ like ‘whatever’.  
**Ryuji** : Like we don’t have to worry about what he really wants.  
**Ann** : YES.  
**Ann** : Ryuji, you get it.  
**Ann** : He always looks out for everybody and makes sure that they’re okay.  
**Ann** : But when it comes to Akira himself? He’s hopeless.  
**Ryuji** : No kidding.  
**Ryuji** : I betcha he isn’t even thinking of his birthday as a big deal right now.  
**Ryuji** : With all of this Medjed shit still over our heads and Futaba being out cold.  
**Ann** : The sad thing is... I think you’re right.  
**Ann** : I just hope that he’s not shouldering all of this by himself...  
**Ryuji** : Argh, damn it Ryuji! Think! Think!  
**Ryuji** : I bench it for like, one time to rest my brain and I almost forgot!  
**Ann** : ...okay, let’s chill for a sec, Ryuji.  
**Ann** : What did you come up with so far?  
**Ryuji** : I was thinking about going to Dome City a few times.  
**Ann** : Ooh, we had so much fun the last time we went there!  
**Ann** : Definitely better than hanging around that boring trip.  
**Ryuji** : Right? That’s what I was thinking!  
**Ryuji** : ...but then again, it’s summer. It’d be like, super crowded in the day.  
**Ryuji** : I’m talking stupid crazy ass crowded. More than it was when we went together last time.  
**Ryuji** : That wouldn’t be his flow.  
**Ryuji** : ...even if he doesn’t say it.  
**Ann** : Yeah…  
**Ann** : I was thinking maybe taking him somewhere to eat.  
**Ann** : Like how we went up to that buffet to celebrate our first success, y’know?  
**Ann** : But someplace different, of course!  
**Ryuji** : I’m always down with food!  
**Ann** : That’s what I thought at first.  
**Ann** : ...but we don’t have money to burn.  
**Ryuji** : Ugh, maaaaaan…  
**Ryuji** : And doing it in Leblanc’s way too easy too...  
**Ryuji** : I mean, I’ve hung out in his room for days and we’d just be kickin’ it!  
**Ryuji** : He prolly wouldn’t mind that at all, but...  
**Ryuji** : It’d be too easy to celebrate there. I don’t wanna skimp this.  
**Ann** : So we’ve got nothing after all…  
**Ann** : Man… I just…  
**Ann** : I really wanted to make this special for him…  
**Ryuji** : I know how you feel, Ann. Believe me.  
**Ryuji** : Who wants to bet that if it was any of our birthdays tomorrow  
**Ryuji** : He’d be the first to come up with something?  
**Ann** : I’d bet my whole house that he would.  
**Ann** : That’s just how he is.  
**Ryuji** : Totally.  
**Ryuji** : ...Did I ever tell you how he dragged me to the arcade for my birthday?  
**Ann** : Pfft, he dragged you there?  
**Ann** : Didn’t think that you needed to be dragged there, Ryuji.  
**Ryuji** : Dude. Normally, I wouldn’t need to.  
**Ryuji** : But while I’m at it, lemme break it down for ya.  
**Ann** : Shoot.  
**Ryuji** : See, what had happened was…  
**Ryuji** : It was gonna be finals, and we were walking together after school.  
**Ryuji** : I was bitchin’ about finals and having to study on my birthday.  
**Ryuji** : And he like, actually stopped me dead in my tracks and looked me in the eye.  
**Ryuji** : And he was just like, “...Today’s what?”  
**Ryuji** : Dude scared the living shit out of me, damn it.  
**Ryuji** : But I told him it was my birthday  
**Ryuji** : And the big bastard actually pulled my arm and dragged me to the train to Shibuya.  
**Ryuji** : And no joke, he actually said this:  
**Ryuji** : “Oh, hell no. Screw studying.”  
**Ann** : Hah! Easy for him to say!  
**Ann** : Mr. Top Ten in the Entire Class.  
**Ryuji** : Right!?  
**Ryuji** : But man, did I get a charge outta that!  
**Ryuji** : We had a ball hanging out there all afternoon.  
**Ryuji** : Mom saw me all smiling and shit when I got home.  
**Ryuji** : He made my entire day.  
**Ann** : Aww…  
**Ryuji** : That’s why we gotta think of something, Ann.  
**Ryuji** : I told him I was gonna pay him back when it was gonna be his birthday.  
**Ryuji** : And I’m gonna keep that promise, damn it.  
**Ann** : I hear you.  
**Ann** : ...let’s call for backup.  
**Ann** : Yusuke and Makoto might have some good ideas.  
**Ann** : We might come up with something good if we work together!  
**Ryuji** : Good plan!  
**Ann** : Don’t accidentally bring it up in the main group chat though!  
**Ann** : He’ll see it!  
**Ryuji** : Well, duh. I know what I’m doing here!  
**Ryuji** : I’ll start up a new chat and bring in those two.

\-----

 **Ryuji** : Hey, guys!  
**Ryuji** : Emergency Chat Meeting! Everyone gather ‘round!  
**Makoto** : Ryuji-kun… it’s the middle of the night.  
**Makoto** : Did something happen for you to call this meeting?  
**Ryuji** : Something ain’t gonna happen if we don’t think of something!  
**Ryuji** : It’s a total PT emergency!  
**Yusuke** : If that’s the case… then shouldn’t our Leader be aware of this?  
**Yusuke** : I don’t see his chat ID included in this chat.  
**Makoto** : I noticed that too.  
**Makoto** : Why is Akira-kun not included in this?  
**Makoto** : If this really is an emergency, then he should know.  
**Ann** : ‘Cause this emergency involves him directly.  
**Yusuke** : ?  
**Makoto** : ?  
**Ann** : Guys...  
**Ann** : Tomorrow’s Akira’s birthday!  
**Yusuke** : !!!  
**Makoto** : !!!  
**Ann** : That’s why it’s just the four of us here.  
**Ann** : We want to surprise him!  
**Ryuji** : And we can’t come up with shit to do.  
**Ryuji** : So yeah, I’d call this an emergency!  
**Makoto** : It’s Akira-kun’s birthday… no wonder...  
**Yusuke** : I wasn’t aware of this...  
**Ann** : Do either of you have any ideas on what to do for his birthday?  
**Ann** : Ryuji and I kept swapping ideas around, but…  
**Ann** : We couldn’t settle on anything.  
**Yusuke** : Let me think upon this for a moment.  
**Yusuke** : Akira is an open-minded individual… this can either be easy or difficult.  
**Makoto** : Hm… Maybe… how about going to Chinatown?  
**Ryuji** : ...for his birthday?  
**Ryuji** : Ain’t Chinatown like, super freakin’ crowded all the time?  
**Ryuji** : We’d be lucky to just walk through there!  
**Makoto** : It was a thought… but you’re right. Maybe that’s not the smartest play.  
**Yusuke** : ...Ikebukuro, then?  
**Yusuke** : I did see him with someone in the Planetarium recently.  
**Ann** : Oh, I’ve always wanted to go there!  
**Ann** : But is that the best place for a birthday party though?  
**Ryuji** : Nah. Next.  
**Makoto** : Let’s think a little closer to home.  
**Makoto** : Surely there’s something to do in Shibuya, right?  
**Yusuke** : That’s true.  
**Yusuke** : Shibuya is an endless bustle of a district.  
**Yusuke** : If there is anything that holds the answer to our dilemma, it’s there.  
**Ryuji** : Like what?  
**Ryuji** : We can’t go in that fancy buffet like last time.  
**Ryuji** : We ain’t got money.  
**Makoto** : You mean the Wilton Buffet?  
**Makoto** : You all actually went there?  
**Yusuke** : Isn’t that place supposed to be expensive?  
**Ann** : Super expensive. And it was just the three of us at the time.  
**Ann** : Plus Morgana, of course. Even if we snuck him in.  
**Ryuji** : We burned through that cash we got from sellin’ Kamoshida’s treasure in one trip.  
**Ryuji** : I’d freaking die if I saw the bill for the five of us.  
**Yusuke** : I would definitely feel that pain.  
**Makoto** : …  
**Yusuke** : …  
**Ryuji** : …  
**Ann** : ...  
**Ann** : ...hey, wait a minute. When we were all dealing with Kaneshiro…  
**Ann** : ...wasn’t there a karaoke place that we all gathered in?  
**Makoto** : !!!  
**Makoto** : Yes! I remember that place!  
**Yusuke** : The last time we were there...  
**Yusuke** : I was met with a sorry excuse for singing assaulting my ears…  
**Ryuji** : Ughhhh, I know… Those guys were so effin’ bad…  
**Ann** : Yeah, they sucked.  
**Ann** : But that doesn’t mean that we’d be that bad though.  
**Ryuji** : Oh, hell… Ann, you aren’t thinking --  
**Ann** : Why not?  
**Ann** : It’s cheaper than anything we threw out there, it’s close by…  
**Ann** : And we’d totally have fun, right?  
**Ryuji** : ...Hehe, that’s true. I’ll admit.  
**Makoto** : ...I haven’t really been to karaoke in a long time.  
**Makoto** : I don’t think I even remember it.  
**Yusuke** : I haven’t been to karaoke at all.  
**Ryuji** : Wait, for real!?  
**Ryuji** : You two need to live a little! Seriously!  
**Ann** : Okay, that just convinces me even more.  
**Ann** : What do you guys think? Karaoke for Joker?  
**Ryuji** : I’m down.  
**Yusuke** : I concur.  
**Makoto** : Agreed.  
**Ann** : Sweet!  
**Ann** : Ooh, I’m getting excited over this! We’re gonna have so much fun!  
**Makoto** : Are we going to go up there during the day?  
**Yusuke** : That sounds like a good option. I’d imagine that it’d get crowded at night.  
**Ann** : Great, let’s go with that!  
**Ann** : Hey Ryuji, wanna go to Leblanc and get him tomorrow?  
**Ryuji** : Hell yeah! I’m definitely gonna drag his ass up there!  
**Makoto** : So then everyone’s going to meet up at Leblanc, yes?  
**Ryuji** : That’s the game plan!  
**Makoto** : Good… then let’s all have some fun tomorrow. For Akira-kun.  
**Yusuke** : Celebrating Akira’s birthday… I’m looking forward to this.  
**Ann** : Tomorrow… let’s give him a day that he won’t forget.

\-----

It's hot outside today. He can feel the hot summer air from outside blow into the cafe whenever someone opened the front door to enter or exit. He feels it again when he notices Sojiro entering the cafe with a crossword puzzle book in one hand and a pack of cigarettes in the other… but it’s just a minor footnote in Akira’s mind compared to everything else. He idly scrapes the remnants of the curry on his plate as Sojiro made his way around the counter, quietly mulling to himself in thought.

“...how is she?” Akira asked him.

“Still asleep. But other than that, she’s fine.” Sojiro answered.

Akira formed a half-smile then. “...That’s good.” he sighed. Futaba’s condition was one of the major things that fed into his inner unease lately. First and foremost, he wanted her to be alright. The revelations that were shown while investigating her palace was… a heavy thing to see, and no doubt heavier for Futaba to bear. Not to mention that Futaba awakening to her Persona inside of her own palace and helping them out with that cognition of her mother must have taken an extra toll on her body. She’s been out for a few days already… who knows when she was going to wake up?

Sojiro turns on the TV hanging from across the room, and immediately they see another report on Medjed and the cleanse. _Not again._ Sojiro rolled his eyes to himself in annoyance as he opens up his book and turns away from the TV. Akira doesn’t say anything about it, but his eyes narrowed slightly as he stared down at his near empty plate. Medjed… that was the other major thing weighing heavy on his mind. His expression darkens as he delves further and further into deep thought. How was he going to deal with this?

Things were starting to get really nasty in concerns to the public. Whenever he would go out to meet with people or go to a part-time job, he hears a certain question that seemed to be asked more and more as time went on: _‘What the hell are the Phantom Thieves doing!?’_ Akira has been hearing it all of the time lately, and it doesn’t help with the current feeling of uselessness that he feels right now. 

For one thing, he didn’t know shit about hacking. He wouldn’t even know where to even start upon tackling Medjed from that angle. Second, Medjed wasn’t just a one man target like the other targets before them. They were supposed to be an international thing. Akira could try and think of ways to counter this all that he wants, but he knew in the end that his options were limited towards something that grand a scale. And third… the one person that could actually _do_ something about this and aid them in this dilemma… was still asleep and recovering in her room. 

Akira’s expression turns grave as he folds his hands in front of him, frowning as he mulls even further in deep thought. He didn’t want to solely rely on Futaba’s help, especially since she was still recovering… Yes, they did have a deal. In exchange for invoking a change of heart in her, she would aid them with Medjed. Anxiously waiting for her to wake up just so she could help them with that… the thought of that made Akira feel dirty. But the more that time would pass him by, the more that it looked that the only clear choice here was to wait for her. No matter what ideas he thought of in his head, that seemed to be the only option that he ended up with every time. 

_Ugh._

Akira feels his phone buzz in his pocket, bringing him out of his thoughts for a moment. He reaches over and takes it out, curious to see who it was that texted him this time. He reads it over, and his expression softened at bit from the slight intensity that was there before.

 **Mom** : ...I’m sorry it took this long to hear from us.  
**Mom** : We’re thinking of you today and always. Happy birthday, Akira.

Ah… that’s right…

Akira didn’t forget that today was his birthday, but… he didn’t expect that. He has hardly looked back at elements of his life back home since he came to the city. And ever since the start of the Phantom Thieves? It was barely even a thought. Regardless of all of that... that message did make him smile a bit. It was a smile born from both relief and a tinge of sadness. His thumb hovers above the screen, thinking of what to text back. There were a few things in mind that he wanted to say, but… none of them sounded right in his head. Eventually, he thought of something short to type down that he was relatively satisfied with and sent a message back:

 **Akira** : It’s okay. I haven’t been good at keeping in touch either.  
**Akira** : ...thanks, Mom.

“What was that? Something important?”

Akira looks over to see Morgana peeking his head out from around the corner of the counter. He supposed that he was finished with his meal too, from what he could tell. Morgana walks towards where Akira was sitting and leaps up at the seat next to him, glancing at him in his curiosity.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Akira assured, smiling a little as he scrapes up the last of his curry. As if on cue, he hears the bell chime as the front door opens up. Akira turns his head towards the door to see Ryuji and Ann standing by the doorway, both of them having huge grins on their faces.

“Oh, it’s you kids.” Sojiro acknowledged, looking up from his crossword puzzle to greet them.

“Hi, Boss!” Ann greeted right back with a smile.

“Yo! There he is!” Ryuji exclaimed, making a beeline towards Akira. As soon as he got close, Ryuji slung his arm around Akira’s shoulder and pulled him towards him with a rough squeeze. “You didn’t think we’d forget what today was, did ya?” he then said with a wild grin.

“...I had a feeling that you guys would remember.” Akira replied, chuckling under his breath.

“Duh! Of course we’d remember your birthday!” Ann chimed in. She was holding the door out for Makoto and Yusuke, who were drawing close to the shop. When the two of them finally got to the door, Ann, Makoto and Yusuke all entered the cafe proper together with Yusuke closing the door behind him. In a matter of seconds, Leblanc became lively with the chatter of Akira and his friends.

“Happy Birthday, Akira-kun.” Makoto greeted with a smile.

“If I remember correctly… You’re seventeen now, yes?” Yusuke asked.

“I am.” Akira answered, nodding.

“Oh, man. Gettin’ old, ain’t cha?” Ryuji joked with a laugh.

“Huh? What does that make you? Your birthday’s before mine, _old man._ ” Akira countered back with a wry grin.

“Pfft! You asshole!” Ryuji laughed. That in turn made Akira laugh too.

“Hmph… Well, what do you know?” Sojiro mused. Though his focus returned to the crossword puzzle in his hands, Akira could’ve sworn that he saw a smile on the old man’s face. “You kids are here to celebrate this guy’s birthday, right? Go on, get him outta here.”

“Way ahead of you!” Ann promised, rubbing her hands together as Akira stood up from his spot from the booth and took up his bag that was below his feet. It was not lost on everyone -- save for Sojiro -- that Morgana leapt into the bag with barely even a sound. “Come on! We’re all gonna head to Shibuya and go to karaoke to celebrate!”

“Wait, really?” Akira asked, surprised.

“Mhm! We all threw around ideas about what we should do for your birthday, and we came up with karaoke! And everyone already agreed to it, so no backing out!”

“S-Seriously…?!” Akira looked towards Makoto and Yusuke in particular, a bit surprised that they went along with this as well. Ryuji and Ann he could understand, and he probably would have expected it if he had really thought about it, but those two... He didn’t know that they were karaoke people…! The more you know.

“The vote was unanimous, I’m afraid.” Makoto replied with an amused smile.

“I look forward to hearing your voice on stage.” Yusuke said with a satisfied look on his face.

“You two look way too calm right now…” Akira groaned, feeling the sweat when he looked upon both of their faces. Still, no one ever said that he was going to back out from this. If they were planning to drag him to karaoke for his birthday, he was damn sure going to give them a show. Besides, hanging out with everyone like this might help take his mind off Medjed for a little while. Akira ran a hand through his messy black hair and then grinned at everyone. “Well? What are we waiting for? Let’s get to it!”

“Hell yeah! Now we’re talking!” Ryuji cheered. 

At the word of the birthday boy himself, everyone went out of Leblanc and walked together towards the train station, heading en route to Shibuya for their outing. Throughout the short train ride, they all talked amongst themselves as they waited for their stop. Once they’ve reached Shibuya Station, the crew continued on their route towards Central Street. A little deeper in was the karaoke place that they remembered they were in before back when Kaneshiro was a target to worry about.

The group entered the building and worked out what they wanted to do for their stay there. Instead of grabbing a seat in one of the booths like last time, they all gathered around one of the tables that was closest to the stage. And though it was daytime, the inside of the lounge was still pretty dimly lit. It was enough for Morgana to poke his head out from Akira’s bag unnoticed by untrained eyes.

“So let me get this straight, you just stand out on stage and sing whatever’s on that screen?” Morgana asked, looking at the big TV screen that was sitting on a stand on the edge of the stage.

“Basically.” Akira replied, nodding. “You can choose a song from that selection screen over there. And I think you can also make a request to the DJ over there at the corner and he’ll set things up. After that, you just build up your courage and sing your heart out on stage.”

“It’s definitely more fun if you have people with you though.” Ann added on. “I mean sure, you could go up there and sing by yourself, but hanging around with friends while belting out a song is totally more fun! Bonus if they sing along with you ‘cause they know the song too!”

“I don’t really get it,” Morgana admitted. “But getting to hear Lady Ann sing… I’m sure that you’d have a heavenly voice. Some of the others though… I don’t have much hope for.”

“...” Ryuji’s eye twitched. He couldn’t help but feel that particular jab from Morgana was meant for him. But with a low grumble, he eventually shakes it off. He’ll get that cat later. Right now there were more pressing matters to attend to. “So! Akira’s going first, right? Riiiiiight?” he grinned, nudging Akira’s arm with his elbow as he waggled his brows at him.

“Of course he’s first! He’s the birthday boy, after all!” Ann said, nodding enthusiastically. And with Yusuke and Makoto looking towards him expectantly, Akira felt as though that there was no choice for him in the matter. He was taking center stage. He looks at his friends around the table one by one, then sighed as he bowed his head down.

“You all want to hear me sing that badly?” Akira asked.

…

Everyone could see that signature smirk of his gracing his lips as he pushed his glasses up.

“You’re not ready for me.”

“Oh shit! Oh shit, it’s on now!” Ryuji howled excitedly. Akira stood up from his seat and walked up towards the stage as Ryuji whistled and everyone else clapped in both their encouragement and excitement.

“Show ‘em all, Akira!” Ann cheered.

“Good luck!” Makoto cheered.

“This will definitely be a spectacle.” Yusuke mused, eyes focused on Akira.

Akira flipped through the selection of tracks for a moment before he settled on one that he smiled at. _‘Oh yeah, this one’s gonna be good.’_ he thought to himself. He clicked on the screen to confirm his choice, then backed away towards center stage as he waited for the music to start. Once the track started its first few seconds, Ryuji’s eyes widened as he heard the opening to the song Akira was going to perform.

“For real?! You know that song!?” he exclaimed, jaw wide open as Akira held the mic to his mouth. Akira’s only response to that was a playful wink as he got into position.

“Showtime.”

Not one to hold back when he’s front and center, Akira performed his song with gusto. When it came to singing, he was actually pretty decent. Not enough for an off duty manager to sign him up on the spot or anything like that, but more decent than Akira would give himself credit for. When he got to those power belting notes, he belted. When he felt like he was in rhythm for a little dancing, he showed off some moves when he really got into it. All of this was done under the loud cheering of his friends nearby as they watched him perform on stage. When the song was over, Akira had the nerve to strike out a pose on time with the last beat.

Needless to say, the others were floored.

“DUDE!” Ryuji erupted, running up on stage just so he could sling an arm around Akira as he walked off the stage. He excitedly shook his best friend by the shoulders as they walked off together, meeting up with the others as they ran up to them in turn. “Holy shit, dude! That. Was. SICK!! So effin’ sick!”

“Oh my god, that was awesome! You looked so cool!” Ann beamed.

“That was impressive! I never took you for a performer before now.” Makoto complimented.

“Indeed. You looked as though you were enjoying yourself.” Yusuke mentioned.

“I was.” Akira confirmed, nodding as he grinned. With Akira’s turn complete, he took his seat from the table back and leaned against the chair. “So? Who’s up next? Don’t tell me that I scared you all straight!” he said.

“Ooh, is that a challenge? You’re gonna regret that!” Ann declared. “Move over!” 

Pumping her fist up in the air, Ann marches up the stage with little hesitation in her steps, making the others take their seats once again. Ann’s fingers slide across the screen as she searches for a song to sing. Eventually, something catches her eye as she looks over the song list, and she gasps at the realization of it.

“Ooh! I used to love this one when it came out!” she squealed, excitingly confirming her choice of song. Ann practically bounces towards the center of the stage as she smiles a bright smile, gleefully taking the mic into her hands. “Okay guys, stop me if you heard this one!” she said, waiting until the music started to play. When the track was beginning to play, both Ryuji and Akira fell out in their seats.

“Are you serious?!” Akira exclaimed.

“Nooooo! Not a Risette classic!” Ryuji cried out.

“Ahaha! I bet you two know the words!” Ann laughed, before she began to sing.

Hardly anyone could compare to the famous idol Risette, that was a given. But despite that, Ann’s voice rang with a cheerful ring as she sang all of the words to the song by heart. She danced around the stage as she sang, recalling the moves that Risette does during her music videos and putting her own spin on them. The energy she displayed was infectious, as Makoto was swaying in her seat and the boys were enjoying themselves. Ann didn’t get to see the shocked look on Ryuji’s face when he found out Akira knew most of the words, but she did see the two of them eventually singing along with her. Ann ends the song with confidence as she sang out the last note, flashing a beaming smile as she heard the applause from her friends.

“Beautiful!” Yusuke bellowed, clapping his hands.

“Lady Ann, that was amazing!” Morgana beamed. Thankfully, his meows were drowned out by the clapping of everyone else, so hardly anyone would hear a cat in the lounge.

“Ann, that was wonderful!” Makoto clapped.

“You really put it all out there.” Akira complimented, holding out his hand for Ann to take as she descended down from the stage. Ann took it gladly as she laughed.

“Don’t think I didn’t see you guys singing along down there!” she teased.

“Yeah? What about it?” Akira countered, having a pleased look on his face.

“What about it?! I’m still flipping out about how you know most of the words to a freakin’ Risette song! How in the shit, Akira?!” Ryuji exclaimed. “Just how many songs do you know?”

“Trade secret.” Akira replied, putting a finger to his lips as he smirked at him.

“Come on, man!” Ryuji groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. He’s just teasing him now, the asshole. But, oh well… Ryuji wasn’t going to be out done by either of them. He’ll make sure of that. “Okay, okay. I’ll admit it, Ann. You were pretty good.” he complimented.

“Aww, Ryuji… I didn’t expect you to actually say it!” Ann said.

“But I’m gonna blow you outta the water though!” he then added with a grin.

“Pfft! Yeah, right! You think you can do better?”

“Watch me! I’m up next!” With a mock salute, Ryuji makes his way towards the stage in his big bluster. He knew just the song to blow everyone out of the water and get everyone hype at the same time… he just hoped that they had it in their albums. He flips through the selection impatiently, trying to find the specific song in mind… and after a few cycles of accidently overlooking it for a while and making faces while doing it, Ryuji eagerly confirmed his choice. He walks towards the center of the stage with a gangsta lean and his wild grin as he waited for the song to start.

“Hell yeah! You guys ready for this?!” he bellowed excitedly.

“Eugh, you’re so loud…” Morgana groaned, burying his head back into Akira’s bag. “He doesn’t even need a mic to sing, he’s loud enough as is.” Akira shook his head as he sighed at the black cat, then returned his focus to his best friend and gave him his support.

“Kill it, Ryuji!” he cheered.

“You got it!” Ryuji exclaimed, before he began to sing. Or, to be more technical…

Ryuji’s choice was mostly a rap.

The energy was at an all-time high the moment that Ryuji started to sing and dance around the stage. Granted, he couldn’t dance that well. Mostly thanks to his bad leg, and partly for the lack of rhythm and good dance moves. But to hell with that! Ryuji didn’t seem to care about that at well as he jumped around the stage. He rapped and sang all the parts with glee, even the few times that English words were heard. Ever the effective hype man, Ryuji got his friends moving around in their seats and waving their hands in the air during his turn. Ann, Akira, and surprisingly Yusuke were the prime examples of this. Ryuji ended the song the same way he started it: with high energy to spare.

Needless to say, everyone jumped up and cheered.

“Okay, Okay! You think you’re all slick!” Ann laughed as she clapped.

“That’s how we do it!” Akira voiced, holding his hand up as Ryuji drew close. 

“Hell yeah it is!” Ryuji replied, raising his hand as well before the two of them made a resounding high-five.

“Such energy…” Yusuke mused to himself, smiling as he folded his arms. “I will admit, Karaoke is a foreign concept in my eyes. But seeing such energy displayed in front of me by you all through your songs… I feel myself swept up in the current…!” It was then that Yusuke put a hand over his eyes, craning his neck as he lets out an enigmatic laugh. Everyone else save Akira couldn’t help but sweat a little, but Akira has hung around Yusuke enough to know when he’s inspired by something.

“You going next, Yusuke?” he asked.

“Indeed! I will volunteer my own efforts! Prepare yourselves, my friends, for my spirited performance!”

With that declaration, Yusuke stood up from his seat and walked towards the stage. Unlike his friends that came before him, he didn’t really have an idea about what to sing when he walked up to the selection screen. As Yusuke aimlessly flipped through the selections, he had a serious look upon his features as he occasionally hummed to himself in thought. After several minutes of flipping through the selections, everyone down below could feel a cold sweat on the backs of their necks. If no intervention was made, they were going to be like this for a while.

“Uh… You okay, Yusuke?” Ann asked carefully.

“....”

“Need some help there, buddy?” Ryuji offered.

“....”

“...He’s completely in his own world.” Makoto sighed.

Akira, who was silent throughout this entire thing, finally stood up and went to join Yusuke on stage to see what was the matter. As he approached him, Akira looked over to see Yusuke’s pensive expression staring at the screen. He then looks over at the screen, then back to Yusuke to see him occasionally flip through another page, and then back to the screen again.

“What are you thinking?” Akira asked him, canting his head as he looked at him curiously.

“...I must be taking longer than I thought. Apologies.” Yusuke apologized, frowning at himself. “I had made such a big declaration before… and yet I have no idea what any of these songs are. I have no point of reference to draw from… so I feel as though I am drawing a blank.”

“...do you still want to do it?” Akira then asked.

“Of course! My inspiration to live up to your lively energy is a true promise of passion!” Yusuke declared.

Akira smiled at that. “Then don’t think so hard about it. Just pick one from this screen and see how it goes. We are having fun here, after all. So you don’t have to take this so seriously.” he said.

Yusuke’s expression eased, smiling a satisfied smile as he folded his arms. “Very well. In that case, I shall go with my instinct and pick the first song that catches my eye. I trust that will suffice?” he asked.

Akira’s smile turned into a wry grin then. “Of course. I look forward to hearing your voice on stage.” he replied, throwing Yusuke’s words back at him as he left the stage. Yusuke scoffed at that as a amused smile crept upon his lips, then returned his focus to the selection screen. He looks at the tracks on that particular page one by one, trying to figure out which one seemed to grab at him the most.

“Hmm… then I choose…” he muttered to himself as his lanky fingers finally pressed the button to submit a choice. Everyone at the table immediately perked up once they heard that music was finally starting to play as Yusuke took center stage.

“What did he pick?” Makoto asked curiously.

“I dunno.” Ann shrugged. “Then again, this is Yusuke we’re talking about. Anything could happen!”

“Dude, I don’t even know which way this is even gonna go…” Ryuji sighed in exasperation. Akira only smiled to himself as he leaned back in his seat, awaiting the moment that Yusuke started to sing.

Yusuke’s song, unbeknownst to him, was actually an variation of a jingle from an old store branch that was found in select regions in Japan. Apparently, there were different kinds of jingles that soon proved to be rather popular… popular enough to be found in a karaoke library, at the very least. As he kept his eyes on the screen to sing along with the lyrics, Yusuke’s voice resonates with a deep tone as he immersed himself in the song. Everyone down below, including Morgana, was stunned at the song choice that Yusuke had picked… and they were even more stunned at how well it fit him.

“What a strange song…” Makoto couldn’t help but say. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.”

“Suddenly I feel like buying a lot of shit right now.” Ryuji said in awe.

“...what exactly did you say to him, Akira?” Ann asked.

“Don’t think so hard about his choice.” Akira answered, not adding that he felt a sudden impulse to buy some merchandise too.

Yusuke paid no heed to the chatter down below as he eventually felt more comfortable on his stage. He finally felt like he could be true to his promise, and as such gave a passionate performance at the last cycle of the song. Though the song itself was odd, everyone eventually felt that it was a good fit for their eccentric friend. It definitely helped that Yusuke could actually sing a little, which was another surprise in itself. As Yusuke ended his song, his lips widened into an enigmatic grin as he laughed to himself.

“Well? What do you all think? Are you overwhelmed by my spirited performance?” he asked them all. Despite the sweat everyone could feel on their backs, they loudly clapped for Yusuke all the same.

“What’d I tell you?” Akira said, grinning as Yusuke exited the stage and met up with them.

“That song was definitely… you, Yusuke.” Ann giggled with a smile.

“I’m just saying… if I end up broke by the end of the day, it’s totally your fault.” Ryuji groaned.

“Aren’t you always broke to begin with, though?” Ann sighed.

“If you’d like, Ryuji… perhaps we could go for a bargain sale together. There are some things I need to consider for food…” Yusuke trailed off, his brows furrowing as he remembers his situation with a lack of money.

“It’s cool that you’re offerin’ and all, but… I’m trying _not_ to go crazy with my wallet here.” Ryuji sighed.

As everyone talked among each other about their outstanding lack of money, Makoto looked towards the stage with a nervous look on her face. She knew she was up next. She knew. But she could feel the pressure on her back already when she looks upon that lone mic stand on stage. And she didn’t even know what she was going to sing! Makoto couldn’t help but emit a nervous hum. Admittingly, she has been… out of touch on the current music scene. Where would she even start…?

“So, who’s left?” she could hear Akira’s voice pipe up, and Makoto froze.

“Oh, Miss Prez ~ !” Ryuji sang out, making her sweat in her seat. “You’re up!”

“R-Right…! I suppose it’s natural that I’m next. I haven’t had a turn yet, after all…” Makoto spoke, clearing her throat to attempt to smother her nerves. But there was no hiding the nervous hum she made when she looks towards the stage. Why couldn’t her experience with talking with the student council help her out here…!?

“Are you nervous, Makoto?” Ann asked, leaning her head to the side to look at her. Makoto averted her gaze from Ann as she lightly blushed in her embarrassment.

“O-Of course not…!” she denied. Even though it was clear as day that she was.

“It’s okay to say you’re nervous, you know.” Akira mentioned. “Going up there on stage can be nervewracking to people.”

“Easy for you to say…” Makoto winced, shaking her head. “You all made it look so simple and fun… and yet I’m sitting here acting like this… S-Shouldn’t I take the lead in something like this, like a Senpai should? And I don’t even know what I should sing…”

“Like I said to Yusuke… don’t think about it so much. You’ll psych yourself out.” As Makoto turned her head towards him, Akira flashed her a comforting smile. “We’re all here to let loose and have fun here, right? There’s no point in forcing you to go up there if you’re not having fun. If you really are too nervous, then it’s okay to sit this turn out if you want to.”

“Isn’t that a bit unfair to everyone who already performed though -- ?” Morgana began, only to be cut off by Ryuji grinding his fist on top of his head. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but enough to get the point across.

“Don’t mind him. Akira’s totally right.” Ann said, nodding as she took hold of Makoto’s shoulders. “You don’t call it ‘stage fright’ for nothing, y’know? It actually takes a bit of courage to get up there and perform. But hey, you’re with friends, right? There’s no judgement here!”

“...Courage, hm?” she mused, smiling a little. Though she was comforted by her friends’ consideration of her, Makoto couldn’t help but agree with Morgana as well. She felt as though it wouldn’t be fair if she was the only one to sit out a performance when everyone else already went up and put everything on the line on stage. And she knew she wanted to have fun with everyone else too. So despite her nerves… Makoto felt that she should still try. “...then I should gather my own courage and take a chance, right? After all, if I can speak in front of the entire school and get used to that… then I can go up there and sing in front of my friends… right?”

“Of course. If you’re sure about that.” Akira mentioned.

“Then let me show you all how sure I am.” As Makoto finally stood up from her seat, she felt Ann rubbing her shoulders excitedly as she squealed with glee.

“Now _there’s_ the spirit of our Queen.” Yusuke spoke with a pleased smile.

“You can do this, Makoto! We’re right behind you!” Ann chimed.

“Go get it, Makoto!” Ryuji cheered, pumping his fist in the air, “Makoto! Makoto!”

Makoto walks towards the stage with a sweat as everyone else joined in with Ryuji’s cheering, but she couldn’t help but have a little smile on her face as she walked. When she takes her first steps towards the selection screen, she was once again at a loss. Let’s see… she just doesn’t have to think too hard about her choice, right? Makoto carefully scrolls down and over the pages as she tries to pick a song to sing. Eventually one title in particular grabs her attention, and Makoto’s eyes widened at the realization that she actually knew what it was.

“...they have this song here?” she wondered aloud to herself. It was a surprise for sure… but also a godsend since she actually knew this song. “...would everyone know it though? It is pretty old…” she murmured as she mulled in thought… No. She was thinking too much again, wasn’t she? Makoto smiled to herself as she shook her head, then pressed the submit button to confirm her choice. 

Screw it, right?

The cheers of her friends down below resumed once they realized that Makoto made her choice. Makoto stood nervously at the center of the stage, her hands gripping at the mic with such a tightness that she feared that she was going to crush it in her hands. Even so, she awaited the moment that the track started to play. It may have been a while since she heard this particular song, but Makoto found that she knew the beginning line rather well.

Makoto’s song was actually the theme song to an old show that she occasionally watched with her sister when they were younger. That was primarily why she picked it, and why she looked more comfortable the more the song went on. She didn’t dance much though… She stayed in the center of the stage for the duration of the song, occasionally looking at the screen as she sang the lyrics she actually didn’t remember too well. But even so, Makoto’s raw voice was enough to keep everyone down below swaying with the song and supporting her. When the song ended, everyone stood up and clapped for Makoto, who was smiling a bit bashfully as her grip on the mic lightened up.

“Way to go, Makoto!” Akira cheered.

“I knew you could do it!” Ann exclaimed.

“Nothing that a little courage wouldn’t fix.” Yusuke spoke, smiling to himself. “Wonderful.”

“Ha… Haha…” Makoto laughed breathlessly to herself. “That was… That was actually kind of fun…!”

“Haha, see? See? Who knew the President had chops?” Ryuji laughed.

“This may sounded particularly selfish, especially since I’ve been holding up everything, but… I want to do it again. Full stop!” Makoto looks down at her friends for a moment and smiles. “...Ann? Want to help me?”

Ann’s face brightened up at that. “You want me to sing with you? Of course! Oh my god, this is going to be so much fun!” she chimes, bouncing on her feet as she ran up the stage to join her.

Everyone’s time at karaoke went off at full swing when everyone has performed at least once. Ann and Makoto looked like they were enjoying themselves as they sang a song together, which eventually prompted the guys to perform a song together for the heck of it when their turn came up. Admittingly, it was more so Ryuji and Akira singing together as Yusuke was sandwiched in-between them trying to keep up with songs that he didn’t know. But they all still had fun. Everyone was switching partners, taking turns picking songs for themselves and each other, and all around just having fun with it. 

The number one goal of the day was definitely achieved, and that was making sure that they celebrated Akira’s birthday with a bang. The idea was admittingly a last-minute thing, but if Akira’s enjoyment was any indicator, that mere fact didn’t matter in the slightest.

As the day went on and their time in the lounge was about to come to a close, everyone was just lounging around in their seats while catching their breath and sipping on their drinks. Akira in particular was sitting in his seat with his head dangling back and his focus was towards the ceiling. Even so, he emits a tired chuckle as his lips formed a wide smile.

“Guys… Guys, holy shit… This was awesome.” he breathed.

“Not bad to kick back every once in a while, eh Leader?” Ryuji mused as he put his hands behind his head. “‘Specially with how wound up you can get. We wanna make sure that you were having a blast up there.”

“Mission accomplished, team.” Akira laughed. It was true… he didn’t even think about Medjed once while he was here. That whole situation was the reason why he’s been so on edge lately, especially with Futaba still recovering in her room. For a while at least… doing this had put him at ease. He was definitely having fun.

“I’m glad that we were able to allow you to enjoy yourself.” Makoto said, smiling despite her current exhaustion.

“In any case… shall we get going? Our time’s almost up, yes?” Yusuke asked, rolling his neck around as he grasped his shoulder.

“Not yet.”

Everyone turned their heads towards Ann, who was resting her chin on her folded arms.

“Ann, how can you still have that much energy?” Makoto questioned, in a mix of bewilderment and awe.

“There’s still one more song that we’ve gotta sing before we leave for the day.” Ann mentioned. “And we haven’t sang it yet.”

“Hah? What song is that? Feels like we cleaned out the whole library…” Ryuji groaned.

Ann smiled then. “The most obvious one, Ryuji. It _is_ Akira’s birthday, after all.” she pointed out.

Oh.

_...Oh._

“So… who wants to start it off?” Ann asked, her eyes glancing at everyone around the table. “Or do I need to do it? ‘Cause I definitely will.”

“Your idea. You do it.” Ryuji said, waving her off as he groaned in his seat.

Akira looks towards Ryuji with a devilish grin on his face. He slings an arm around him as he leans in close. “Aww… don’t wanna sing for me, Ryuji?” he teased lowly. “But we make such a good pair…”

“Why you gotta say it like that though!?” Ryuji exclaimed. Akira laughs at Ryuji as he groans, leaning into his body in his exasperation.

Ann giggles to herself as she shakes her head at the boys, then got up from her seat in order to make one last run to the stage. She walks towards the center of the stage, makes sure that the mic was on, and then takes the mic from the stand before she approaches the edge of the stage. She crouches down for a moment to look at everybody before her eyes fell to the birthday boy himself. Akira looks up from messing with Ryuji to notice that Ann actually went up to the stage, and he paused. Soon enough, everyone around the table was looking up at the stage towards Ann.

“Ann, you’re seriously gonna -- ?” Ryuji began.

“Told you guys that I’d definitely do it.” Ann chuckled, a bit matter-of-factly. Somehow this was a little more nervewracking to do than just singing her heart out to the songs she loved in front of her friends. She could already feel her cheeks heating up, and no doubt she was going to be a little red doing this. But still… she was serious when she said that she’d definitely sing for him. Ann forms a warm smile as she puts the mic up to her lips, stood up properly… and she began to sing.

“Happy Birthday to you… Happy Birthday to you…” She could already see the slight blush forming on Akira’s cheeks as she sang, which made her smile a little wider. “Happy Birthday, dear Akira…” It was then that Ann held her hand out in his direction as she sang out that line. And considering how Akira himself felt, he felt a great urge to reach his hand out to her too. “Happy Birthday to you…!”

Everyone around the table clapped for a blushing Akira, who was bowing his head down with a bashful smile on his face as Ryuji rubbed at his shoulders. Ann took the time to set the mic back on the stand and jump down from the stage so that she could join the others.

“Okay! Everybody’s gotta do it this time!” she said. Everyone else nodded in agreement this time, which made Akira blink in surprise. Ryuji held up his fingers at the same time that Ann did, both of them wanting to countdown the moment everyone sang. Ann gave the signal in the form of a nod, and the two of them counted down in unison. “One, two, three…!”

“Happy Birthday to you!  
Happy Birthday to you!  
Happy Birthday, dear Akira!  
Happy Birthday to you!”

Akira’s blush deepened as he saw every one of his friends singing to him. One by one, he glances at all of them as they sang, and he couldn’t help but have a big, goofy smile on his face. He honestly didn’t expect anything happening on his birthday this year… but to think that he’s found friends here that were willing to go this far for him… The act itself was simple, but to Akira, who came to the city completely alone, it meant the world to him.

“Guys…” he trailed off. Akira didn’t cry, but his heartfelt emotions shone through in his voice. “...Thank you.”

“None of us would be sitting here like this if it wasn’t for you.” Yusuke mentioned, a small smile gracing his features. “As friends… as thieves… you’re the one who brings us all together.”

“The one who helped us see that we can be more than what we’ve been told to be.” Makoto added.

“The one who gave us all a chance, even when we didn’t give ourselves one.” Ann added.

“The one who didn’t abandon troublemakers like us, even when everyone else did.” Ryuji added.

“I may not remember when my own birthday is, or what it’s like… but from what I can understand here, birthdays are special because we’re celebrating that person being here with us.” Morgana began, being relatively quiet all this time as he allowed everyone else to have fun. He opened his mouth, and it looked like he was smiling. “I can definitely say with confidence that all of us here are glad you were born… Joker.”

“...” Akira brings a hand over his mouth as he bowed his head down once more. He’s touched… and maybe a little embarrassed, but there was no hiding the bright smile on his face. “You guys trying to make me cry for real?” he voiced, chuckling under his breath as he shook his head.

“...Is it working?” Ryuji teased, nudging his arm.

“...You were close. Real close.” Akira admitted, before closing an eye. “...until you said that.”

“What!?” Ryuji cried, completely caught off guard by that comment.

Everyone laughed heartily as they stood around the karaoke table, bunched together as they grew to become closer than they were when they first came in the building. They gathered their things, straightened up the table for the next group to put it in use, and walked out of the karaoke lounge together, their voices blending into a sound of warm laughter and conversation as they disappeared into the afternoon Shibuya bustle. 

Akira wasn’t going to forget this particular birthday… not by a longshot.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, guys! A few fun facts about this particular fic!
> 
> Akira's birthday in this fic, August 10th, is actually the same day as the release date of the original Ocean's 11 (1960). I thought it'd be a good easter egg for the charismatic Joker's birthday be the same day as one of the more influential heist films being released. It was almost August 21st, but... that's the Medjed deadline in the game. And I didn't want his birthday to fall at the same time as a major event in the game.
> 
> Warner, the person I gave a shoutout to in the tags, gave me the general idea of what Akira's birthday was going to be by deducing that his zodiac sign would be Leo and left a comment about it in one of my fics. (It was Stalling Time, I believe.) I had a lot of ideas on dates for his birthday for a while, but never settled on one until I saw their comment and checked it out myself. I focused more on the Leo sign's time period, did some research and then finally, FINALLY, settled on a date I was happy with. So Warner? Props to you, my friend.
> 
> Finally, the songs! I tried to be as general as I could with the descriptions of what everyone sang, but let me give you the rundown what I envisioned everyone singing while I was writing this...
> 
> Akira: Drink It Down - L'Arc~en~Ciel  
> Ann: True Story - Rise Kujikawa ( Because of course I did. )  
> Ryuji: Hero's Come Back!! - nobodyknows+  
> Yusuke: Satomi Tadashi Shop Theme (Hirasaka Ver.) - Persona 2 Innocent Sin  
> Makoto: A Cruel Angel's Thesis - Yoko Takahashi ( Yes. That one. )
> 
> Of course, if Akira's, Ryuji's and Makoto's songs existed in the Persona universe, they'd have slightly different names. Like how some of the movies in the cinemas are actually references to actual movies but with slightly different names.
> 
> And those are your fun facts for the day. I hope you've enjoyed this fic!


End file.
